Leah Barkoukis of Townhall recent published an article on the eroding Republican support for the death penalty. Following the Gallup poll that revealed that support is faltering, Barkoukis said,

“Increasingly, however, we’re seeing a growing divide on the Right over capital punishment—a debate that intensified after the botched execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma earlier this year.”

She went on to say,

“More interesting though is the fact that support among Republicans dropped 5 percentage points in just one year.

“I personally favored the death penalty until I took a closer look and realized it simply could not coexist with my conservative values,” Marc Hyden, national coordinator for Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty, said in a statement. “I have traveled across the country talking to thousands of conservatives over the last year. Many of them have changed their views and many more are voicing strong concerns.””